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Asylum claims have more than tripled since 2015, Statistics Canada says

New figures out this morning from the national statistics agency show the number of asylum claims in Canada more than tripled between 2015 and 2018.

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Asylum claimants tend to be younger than the general population, according to new figures

The Canadian Press · Posted: May 17, 2019 10:43 AM ET | Last Updated: May 17

A family, claiming to be from Colombia, is arrested by RCMP officers as they cross the border into Canada from the U.S. as asylum seekers on April 18, 2018, near Champlain, N.Y. New figures from Statistics Canada say the number of asylum claims more than tripled between 2015 and 2018. (Paul Chiasson/Canadian Press)

New figures out this morning from the national statistics agency show the number of asylum claims in Canada more than tripled between 2015 and 2018.

Statistics Canada says that in 2015, the year the Trudeau Liberals were elected, there were about 16,000 asylum claimants.

Two years later, in 2017, there were more than 50,000 claims.

Last year, Statistics Canada says, there were 55,000 claimants, showing the pace of growth had slowed, but the total was well above the previous peak for claimants a decade earlier.